Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Europe to pursue a tailored strategic partnership with the European Union while Canada remains in a trade war with the United States. Ottawa will seek an arrangement allowing Canadians to live and work in Europe without visas, according to a senior Canadian official familiar with the discussions.

The proposed relationship would place investment at its core and is intended to differ from the arrangements Norway and Switzerland have with the EU, the official said. Canada has not proposed “associate membership,” and Carney has ruled out EU membership in favor of what he has called “a unique alliance” with the bloc.

Canadian officials have consulted provincial governments and labor groups, but they have not determined the partnership’s final form. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly, said Ottawa views the initiative as a way to increase Canadian sovereignty rather than surrender authority to Brussels.

“We’re not looking at giving up our rights to Brussels or anything like that,” the official said. “It’s quite the opposite.”

Europe is central to Carney’s effort to reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States, which receives roughly 70% of Canadian exports. Relations with Washington have deteriorated amid tariffs, threats and personal attacks since trade negotiations collapsed. Canada has retaliated against U.S. tariffs and rejected terms that Carney says would weaken the country’s sovereignty.

Carney will attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address on Wednesday as a guest of honor and will address the European Parliament on Thursday. His message to Europe has been that middle powers should resist economic coercion and be willing to reject an unfavorable agreement, although European governments have been reluctant to follow that approach.

The EU shelved retaliation against the United States and accepted an agreement under which most of its exports to the U.S. face tariffs of up to 15%. Carney’s appearance follows his January speech in Davos, where he urged middle powers to cooperate rather than negotiate individually with dominant countries; that speech drew a personal rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump.